Franco Di Santo
| cityofbirth = Mendoza | countryofbirth = Argentina | dateofdeath = | cityofdeath = | countryofdeath = | height = | position = Striker | currentclub = Schalke 04 | clubnumber = 9 | youthyears = 2005–2006 | youthclubs = Audax Italiano | years = 2006–2007 2008–2010 2009–2010 2010–2013 2013–2015 2015– | clubs = Audax Italiano Chelsea Wigan Athletic Werder Bremen Schalke 04 | caps(goals) = 76 (26) 8 (0) 22 (1) 92 (13) 46 (18) 67 (5) | nationalyears = 2006–2009 2012- | nationalteam = Argentina U-20 Argentina | nationalcaps(goals) = 25 (5) 3 (0) | manageryears = | managerclubs = }} Franco Matías Di Santo (born 7 April 1989) is an Argentine footballer who plays as a striker for Schalke 04 in the Bundesliga. Di Santo began his career at Chilean club Audax Italiano, earning a £3.4 million move to Chelsea in 2008 and a first-team place following good form in the reserves. After a season on loan at Blackburn Rovers, he moved to Wigan Athletic for £2 million in 2010, where he won the FA Cup in 2013. After totalling 14 goals in 122 Premier League matches, he was released following Wigan's relegation to the Championship in 2013. He then moved to Werder Bremen in Germany, spending two seasons there, before making a controversial switch to rivals Schalke 04. Di Santo has represented the Argentina national football team on three occasions. He was nicknamed 'Crespito' (Little Crespo) after Chelsea's former Argentinian striker Hernán Crespo. Club career Audax Italiano Born in Mendoza, Mendoza Province, Di Santo began his club career in the Chilean team Audax Italiano. In the 2006–07 season, he scored 26 goals in 76 matches, including one goal in six matches in the Copa Libertadores. Then, in 2007 he scored 12 in 17 matches for the club, including one goal in four matches in the Copa Sudamericana. On 25 January 2008, Di Santo signed for English Premier League side Chelsea on a four-and-a-half year contract for a fee of £3.4 million. Chelsea 2007–08 season Di Santo scored on his debut for Chelsea reserves on 11 February 2008, getting a late goal in a 2–2 draw with Fulham reserves and scored his second goal in as many appearances, against Reading reserves on 3 March. On 14 April, he scored his first hat-trick for Chelsea's reserve team against Tottenham Reserves; the most spectacular of the three goals being a volley from a Branislav Ivanović cross that found the top right corner. In the last reserve match of the season, Di Santo scored his seventh goal in eight reserve games against Aston Villa. He finished the 2007–08 reserve season with 12 reserve goals in eight games. 2008–09 season Di Santo trained with the first team in 2008–09 pre-season and flew out with the squad on their tour of China. Ahead of their first game on tour, he was handed the number 36 jersey and came off the bench in that game against Guangzhou Pharmaceutical, to score the third goal during a 4–0 victory. He scored his second goal of the pre-season campaign in the 65th minute against the Chengdu Blades in a 7–0 victory after he had replaced Nicolas Anelka five minutes before. On 31 August, Di Santo made his full first-team debut in the 1–1 draw with Tottenham Hotspur, coming on in place of Nicolas Anelka in the 88th minute of the game. He made his second first-team appearance in a League Cup match against Portsmouth on 24 September coming on for Didier Drogba in the 79th minute. His UEFA Champions League debut came against CFR Cluj, he replaced Florent Malouda in the 70th minute. The game ended 0–0. On 3 January 2009, Di Santo made his FA Cup debut, coming on as a substitute against Southend United in a 1–1 draw at Stamford Bridge. Di Santo came on as a substitute for Florent Malouda, against Stoke City assisting on a goal in the 88th minute for Juliano Belletti making the scorelines 1–1. Teammate Frank Lampard then went on to score a 94th minute winner with Chelsea claiming a dramatic 2–1 win. Di Santo was named as a substitute 8 times during Chelsea's 08/09 Premier League campaign and was linked with a loan move to Blackburn Rovers. Di Santo scored his first goal of the 2009 pre-season against Club América; he also provided an assist to teammate Florent Malouda a minute later. Chelsea won the game 2–0 to win the World Football Challenge. Loan to Blackburn Rovers On 3 August 2009, Di Santo joined Blackburn Rovers on loan until February 2010, with the option of extending the loan by six-months to June 2010. On 5 August 2009, Di Santo had his debut for Rovers at Ewood Park vs Hibernian. After recovering from injury, he started in the 2–1 Blackburn win over Aston Villa. Di Santo impressed as he provided an assist for David Dunn and almost got himself on the scoresheet on a few occasions. His impressive performance earned praise from manager Sam Allardyce. Di Santo started and scored his first goal against Burnley at Ewood Park on 18 October 2009 while also notching up another assist for David Dunn with a clever flick. As a result of his good performances, Rovers extended his loan deal by a further six months until June 2010. However, after his extended loan, Di Santo saw less time on the pitch due to his poor goals to games ratio and was often used more as a late substitute. He was not selected for Rovers final squad of the 2009–10 season against Aston Villa, a game which Rovers went on to win 1–0. Wigan Athletic On 31 August 2010, Di Santo signed a three-year contract with Wigan Athletic for a transfer fee of £2 million. He made his debut on 11 September, appearing as a substitute in a 1–1 draw against Sunderland, and made his first start for the club in the following game against Manchester City. On 23 April 2011, he scored his first goal for Wigan in the 93rd minute against Sunderland, his first goal since 18 October 2009. On the opening day of the following Premier League season, Di Santo won a penalty which teammate Ben Watson converted into a goal in the 1–1 draw against Norwich City. On 27 August 2011, the third game of the season, he scored two deflected goals in a 2–0 win against Queens Park Rangers and left to a standing ovation from the home crowd when substituted. A week later, he scored again at Goodison Park against Everton, It was a deflected effort to take the lead, but eventually Wigan lost 3–1. Di Santo scored his first goal of the 2012–13 season in a 2–0 away win at newly promoted Southampton. Di Santo scored the opening goal with a finish high into the net from inside the area. On 30 June 2013, Di Santo was released by Wigan. Werder Bremen On 14 August 2013, Di Santo signed a three-year contract with Bundesliga club Werder Bremen. He made his debut in a 1–0 defeat to Borussia Dortmund, replacing Marko Arnautović in the 67th minute. International career Di Santo made his debut for the Argentina under-20 team in 2006 and scored his first goal in a game against the French under-20s. He was part of the under-20 squad that participated in the 2007 South American Youth Championship in Paraguay. Brazil went on to win the tournament having a two point advantage over Argentina. He was also called up to the 2009 South American Youth Championship in Venezuela, but wasn't allowed to take part due to Chelsea's injury crises. From 2006 to 2009 Di Santo got 25 U-20 caps and five goals. On 31 October 2012, Di Santo was handed a call-up to the Argentina national team squad by manager Alejandro Sabella for their upcoming friendly against Saudi Arabia on 14 November 2012. Personal life Di Santo has dual Argentine-Italian nationality. Career statistics International Honours ;Chelsea *FA Cup: 2008–09 ;Wigan Athletic *FA Cup: 2012–13 External links * Category:1989 births Category:Players Category:Argentina under-20 international players Category:Premier League players Category:Audax Italiano players Category:Blackburn Rovers F.C. players Category:Chelsea F.C. players Category:Wigan Athletic F.C. players Category:SV Werder Bremen players Category:FC Schalke 04 players Category:Argentine players Category:Living people Category:Bundesliga players